Committee takes no action in ‘threat’ case

A legislative committee ruled today there was no conclusive information after investigating an alleged threat made by one House member to another on opposite sides in the speaker’s race.

Rep. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, told the House General Investigating and Ethics Committee that a post-election phone call from Rep. Larry Phillips, R-Sherman contained threats that members who oppose incumbent Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, could lose their seats after redistricting next year.

Phillips called the allegation “unequivocally false” in brief testimony before the committee, which spent most of the morning behind closed doors.

Neither legislator recorded the phone conversation. The committee concluded that neither Phillips nor Hughes was acting on behalf of somebody else.

But without a recording of the phone conversation, the committee concluded it could not rule on the disagreement or determine which member’s interpretation is more accurate.